Indira Gandhi

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Indira Gandhi

The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition | 2008 | The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. Copyright 2008 Columbia University Press. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

Indira Gandhi , 1917-84, Indian political leader; daughter of Jawaharlal Nehru . She served as an aide to her father, who was prime minister (1947-64), and as minister of information in the government of Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri (1964-66). On Shastri's death in 1966, she succeeded as prime minister. Her first administration, marked by her increasing personal control of the Indian National Congress party, led to a party split. Her faction, New Congress, won overwhelming electoral victories in 1971 and 1972. She triumphed in foreign affairs with India's 1971 defeat of Pakistan, which resulted in the establishment of the state of Bangladesh. Found guilty in June, 1975, of illegal practices during the 1971 campaign, she refused to resign, declaring a state of emergency. Her administration arrested opponents and imposed press censorship. In November the Supreme Court overruled her conviction. In 1977 her faction in the Congress party lost the parliamentary elections; she lost both her seat and her position as prime minister. In 1980, she again became prime minister, this time as leader of the Congress (Indira) party, and held the office until assassinated by her security guards in 1984. Her son Rajiv Gandhi succeeded her as prime minister.

Bibliography: See biographies by K. Bhatia (1974) and D. Moraes (1980); T. Ali, Nehru and the Gandhis, (1985); I. Gandhi, Letters to an American Friend, 1950-1984 (1985).

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Gandhi, Indira

World Encyclopedia | 2005 | © World Encyclopedia 2005, originally published by Oxford University Press 2005. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

Gandhi, Indira (1917–84) Indian stateswoman, prime minister (1966–77, 1980–84), daughter of Jawaharlal Nehru. She served as president of the Indian National Congress Party (1959–60) before succeeding Lal Shastri as prime minister. In 1975, amid growing social unrest, Gandhi was found guilty of breaking electoral rules in the 1971 elections. She refused to resign, invoked emergency powers, and imprisoned many opponents. In 1977 elections, the Congress Party suffered a heavy defeat and the party split. In 1980, leading a faction of the Congress Party, Gandhi returned to power. In 1984, after authorizing the use of force against Sikh dissidents in the Golden Temple at Amritsar, she was killed by a Sikh bodyguard. Her eldest son, Rajiv Gandhi, succeeded her.

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Gandhi, Indira

A Dictionary of World History | 2000 | © A Dictionary of World History 2000, originally published by Oxford University Press 2000. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

Gandhi, Indira (1917–84) Indian stateswoman, Prime Minister (1966–77; 1980–84). The daughter of Jawaharlal NEHRU, she had already served as President of the Indian National Congress (1959–60) and Minister of Information (1964) when she succeeded Lal Bahadur Shastri (1904–66) as Prime Minister. In her first term of office she sought to establish a secular state and to lead India out of poverty. However, in 1975 she introduced an unpopular state of emergency to deal with growing political unrest, and the Congress Party lost the 1977 election. Mrs Gandhi lost her seat and was unsuccessfully tried for corruption. Having formed a breakaway group from the Congress Party - known as the Indian National Congress (I) - in 1978, she was elected Prime Minister again in 1980. Her second period of office was marked by prolonged religious disturbance, during which she alienated many Sikhs by allowing troops to storm the Golden Temple at Amritsar; she was assassinated by her own Sikh bodyguards.

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Free newspaper and magazine articles

Free Article Probable short circuit causes fire at New Delhi airport.(Indira Gandhi domestic airport)(Brief Article)
Magazine article from: Airline Industry Information; 9/9/2005
Free Article Special terminal opened at Indira Gandhi International Airport for Haj pilgrims.(Brief Article)
Magazine article from: Airline Industry Information; 2/8/2000
Free Article Indira: The life of Indira Nehru Gandhi. (Reviews).(Review)(Brief Article)
Magazine article from: Contemporary Review; 11/1/2001

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Indira: The life of Indira Nehru Gandhi. (Reviews).(Review)(Brief Article)
Magazine article from: Contemporary Review; 11/1/2001; 217 words ; Indira: The Life of Indira Nehru Gandhi. Katherine Frank. HarperCollins...the British for many years. Gandhi was part of the ruling elite...and, we now see, that of the Gandhi dynasty. Surprisingly, perhaps...held power for so many years, Indira Gandhi is not remembered for any... Read more
Assembly pays tribute to Indira Gandhi.
Magazine article from: UN Chronicle; 8/1/1984; 374 words ; Tributes to Indira Gandhi, the Prime Minister of India assassinated...dedicated citizen of the world . Mrs. Gandhi, he said, had been a highly respected...The assassination of Prime Minister Gandhi brings home to us once more the absolute... Read more
Security audit at New Delhi airport begins.(Indira Gandhi International Airport)(Brief Article)
Magazine article from: Airline Industry Information; 1/11/2005; 110 words ; AIRLINE INDUSTRY INFORMATION-(C)1997-2005 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD A ten-day security audit began at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi, India on Monday (10 January). The aim of the audit, carried out by the International Civil... Read more
Probable short circuit causes fire at New Delhi airport.(Indira Gandhi domestic airport)(Brief Article)
Magazine article from: Airline Industry Information; 9/9/2005; 108 words ; AIRLINE INDUSTRY INFORMATION-(C)1997-2005 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD There was a small fire at New Delhi's Indira Gandhi domestic airport today (9 September). The fire started in a room of computers, according to an official in the control room of... Read more
Special terminal opened at Indira Gandhi International Airport for Haj pilgrims.(Brief Article)
Magazine article from: Airline Industry Information; 2/8/2000; 93 words ; ...INFORMATION-(C)1997-2000 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD The Indian Civil Aviation Minister opened a special terminal at the Indira Gandhi International Airport for Haj pilgrims on 6 February. Arrangements have been made to fly about 72,000 pilgrims during... Read more
Changi Airport and partners withdraw from Indian airport bid.(Indira Gandhi International Airport's modernising project)(Brief Article)
Magazine article from: Airline Industry Information; 9/14/2005; 129 words ; ...Enterprises, an Indian mobile phone company, and Singapore's Changi Airport have withdrawn a joint bid for modernising the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi, India. The two parties said that Changi was not confident that it would meet the... Read more
Air India witness donated money in plot to kill Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
Magazine article from: Airline Industry Information; 3/31/2004; 120 words ; ...the Air India bombing trial has said that he donated money to a plot by Sikh militants to kill Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. The man - whose name is protected by a court order - is a witness against Ripudaman Singh Malik, one of two Sikh militants... Read more
Onward for the House of Nehru. (Rajiv Gandhi continues)
Magazine article from: National Review; 12/28/1984; 281 words ; ...which the late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi exacerbated at least as much...of the darker side of the Gandhi legacy: the too-easy acquiescence...with the Soviet Union (Mrs. gandhi refused to condemn the Russian...unanimous election of Rajiv Gandhi, in an emergency cabinet...recent portent. ... Read more
Sonia Gandhi steps down: the power of renunciation.(Of Several Minds)
Magazine article from: Commonweal; 6/18/2004; ; 700+ words ; ...elections in India were fought with Sonia Gandhi's leadership as one of the most important...in Italy, Sonia is the widow of Rajiv Gandhi, himself once prime minister, who was...for reelection in 1991. His mother, Indira Gandhi, and his grandfather, Jawarhlal Nehru...clear: a secular state led by ... Read more
India after Gandhi; The history of the world's largest democracy.(Book review)
Magazine article from: Bookmarks; 11/1/2007; 600 words ; ...most pressing question in India After Gandhi, and the author responds with a comprehensive...1947 to the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi just a few months later to the bloodshed...Prime Ministers Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi, as well as lesser-known but important...Mercury News EXCELLENT In ... Read more

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